After trotting the globe and cracking tough briefs in 48 hours for some of the world’s most progressive brands, they have developed a process – a methodology – that combines agile development, classical briefing, controlled anarchy and rapid prototyping. They work with brands to help them to come up with creative ideas.
The Pop-Up philosophy is all about driving change by forming dedicated, intensely focused teams for short periods of time.
Abraham:
- Founder
- Travelled to different countries to solve briefs in 48 hours.
- Been to over 40 countries
- At the start of a session he likes to check in expectations as this allows you to understand the team.
- Lived in London for the past 5 years
- Studied at Hyper Island (a digital creative business school)
- Met 5 friends who wanted to challenge themselves and the creative industry.
- Culture: Transparency, Feedback, Reflection
- No one took 'roles' - so they could all constantly evolve and grow
- The Pop Up tour was 15 weeks, 15 clients in 15 countries
- There is value in being naive and stubborn
- Started with clients that were friends and family, then using social media to create a network of interest.
- Didn't have any business knowledge starting out
- Recommends using time wisely and experiment as much as possible.
- Worked mainly on campaign briefs - one of the briefs was working on a tv commercial which he found really challenging.
- Navigating audiences and interpretations
- The 48hrs was weekdays only - days they could work
- Setting up in London was most appropriate - at the heart of Europe
- Encourage's trying different things
- First 7 months of business no salary
- Good at the creative process
- Reached out for help with finances and business management - formed a board of members.
- Found out they weren't charging enough to be sustainable
- Divide finances: Salary, Expenses, Savings
- Brands need their services to accelerate creative processes
- Balance - Sales, Development and Execution
- Creative consultation
- Understand your value and the value of guidance / constructive feedback
- Wants his business to remain small
- Working business to consumer rather than business to business
- Empowering people through creativity
Workshop:
We were all split into small groups, the first thing we were told to do was write down on a post-stick note our values and needs within a creative career.
We discussed through as a group what we had written down and why they were important to us.
Next we compiled a list as a group of the needs and values that were most important.
We then individually had to write down a business idea which centres around these values and needs.
We put that to one side and on a big sheet of paper we had to write down a new idea. We then passed the sheets round and added on to each others ideas.
We then used a grid system to determine which idea would be the most appropriate. From high to low impact and high to low effort. After discussing through our ideas we felt that the 'Self-Advertising agency' would be the most effective.
What did I learn today?
Understanding the link between business and design, bringing them together cohesively to develop and grow. Creative problem solving applied in a business context and how good ideas can be generated quickly and effectively.
How will I apply this moving forward?
Learning my worth and having a better understanding of my skills as well as evaluating ideas and developing them.
Overall I found Abrahams talk and workshop to be really beneficial, it has made me think more about the overall creative process to coming up with and idea. It also has made me think more about how design and creativity are interlinked and that some general business knowledge would be valuable to move forward with a career. It has also encouraged me to not let anything hold me back such as doubts and fears, but to be as experimental and creative as possible.
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